How Does an Escapement Work in a Mechanical Watch?
Why the escapement is time’s beating heart In a mechanical watch, everything begins with a mainspring housed in the barrel. It unwinds, powers a gear train… and would, unchecked, run…
Julien Aguettaz
413 posts
I am passionate about watchmaking, having worked for Swiss watchmakers and as a digital strategy consultant.
What’s the Difference Between a Chronograph and a Chronometer?
Two words, two worlds: why we still confuse chronograph and chronometer In everyday language, “chrono” covers everything. We use it to describe both an interval timer and an extremely accurate…
Which watches does Édouard Philippe wear?
In our “Who Wears What?” column, we’ve already dissected the wrists of Sébastien Lecornu, Emmanuel Macron, Sarah Knafo, Jordan Bardella, Éric Zemmour and many others besides. It was time to…
Why Do Some Watches “Vibrate” on the Wrist?
When a watch “lives” on the wrist A slight shiver, a secret rustle, sometimes a genuine buzz that seems to travel through the case. Anyone who wears mechanical watches has…
Which watch is Sébastien Lecornu wearing?
After Emmanuel Macron and his little army of French watches, Sarah Knafo’s Rolex, and Jordan Bardella’s timepieces, it was hard to resist taking a closer look at the wrist of…
Why Are Some Watches Antimagnetic?
The Invisible Enemy of Watches: Magnetism A watch can survive rain, cold, shocks. But when it comes to magnets, its Achilles’ heel is the balance spring. Exposed to a…
What Are Blued Screws Used for in a Watch Movement?
A blue glint that’s anything but accidental Open the sapphire caseback of a well-bred watch and you’ll spot that discreet, almost electric shimmer: blued screws, set like inked punctuation…
How Does an Automatic Movement Really Work?
It’s a silent dance you wear on your wrist. An energy born of your movements, passed from one piece of metal to the next, regulated to the hundredth of a…
What Are Jewels Used for in Watch Movements?
The red secret at the heart of calibres They barely glint, set like cold stars beneath a movement’s bridge. You often catch them through a sapphire caseback, engraved with…
What Is a Field Watch?
There are watches made for showing off, and others that have a purpose. The field watch—or montre de terrain in French—belongs to the latter family: honest pieces, built to be…
How to Choose the Right Batteries for Your Quartz Watches (Equivalents, Brands, Lifespan)
First and foremost, I’m a lover of mechanical watches—but I’m not dogmatic: I also have my own little collection of quartz watches. And when it comes to changing the battery,…
Rolex and the Exhibition Caseback: Why the Brand Is Changing Its Golden Rule
The Oyster obsession: when a watch must first and foremost survive At Rolex, everything begins with a promise sealed in 1926: the Oyster, a waterproof, airtight watch built to take…
Why Index-Free Watches Appeal to Minimalists
The quiet obviousness of a bare dial You catch it at the edge of a cuff: a near-blank disc of colour, crossed by just two hands. No numerals. No…
How to Choose Your First Automatic Watch
Why Start with an Automatic Choosing your first automatic watch is more than a purchase: it’s a rite of passage. You discover an object that lives without a battery,…
The Differences Between Quartz and Mechanical Movements
Two philosophies of time On the wrist, everything begins with a beat. The crisp, regular beat of a seconds hand snapping forward on a quartz watch. Or the hushed,…
This Hand-Wound Watch Defies the Laws of Thinness
The obsession with thinness, reinvented by hand Some watches tell the time, and others tell a pact between the eye, the hand and the material. This ultra-thin, hand-wound piece, heir…